


have you lost your cat?

by kitsuanne



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Economics Major!Shownu, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, High School Senior!Kihyun, M/M, Showki, i couldn't fit wonho properly in the fic so he's only mentioned, it's kihyun's, shownu and changkyun are brothers, there's a pet cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23192209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitsuanne/pseuds/kitsuanne
Summary: Kihyun wasn’t even the owner of the cat, properly speaking, but he was the one contacted when Bubbles got lost, so his only option was to go and pick it up. What he did not expect was to also bring back home some new feelings for the neighborhood’s super hot guy.
Relationships: Son Hyunwoo | Shownu & Yoo Kihyun, Son Hyunwoo | Shownu/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 20
Kudos: 170





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be a very long oneshot but i'm tired of writer block so i'll post little by little and hope that maybe kudos will help me finish this properly  
> it's very silly and just an idea i had over a meme so i hope you like it!

**Unknown number**

_Hello I got this number from your cat Bubbles. I just want to make sure she is not lost only visiting. She is currently playing in my front yard._

Kihyun gasped loudly, turning Minhyuk’s attention away from the math homework both of them were trying to finish. They had already spent the whole morning breaking their heads over those complicated questions, and just as they tried to go back to it after lunch, he received such text.

“Ugh, that sly cat! How can she be giving out my number to random strangers during her strolls?” He stared annoyed at his phone.

“What?” Minhyuk leaned closer to read the text. "I thought Bubbles was your brother's cat?" he questioned after grasping the situation.

"She is. She used to be his ex-girlfriend's, actually, but after they broke up, she just kinda stayed around."

"Why is **your** number on her collar, if she’s not yours?" Minhyuk seemed puzzled.

"That's what I'd also like to know," Kihyun sighed, standing up and leaving the bedroom. "Hyung!!"

His brother wasn't home, apparently. Kihyun sometimes hated him for that. When he needed him the most, he wasn’t home, but at those times when he was busy and trying to study for his finals, his brother was sure to show up and be loud at home.

And now, that. He wasn't sure if it was just an innocent coincidence that had some reasonable explanation behind it or if the older Yoo brother actually meant to prank him by using his phone number as contact info. To that twisted older brother, that could even be a proof of brotherly love.

As if Kihyun didn’t have a lot on his plate already with his university entrance exams approaching. Taking lots of extra classes and visiting the library almost every day after school, the boy barely spent time at home, much less interacting with the cat. How could he, the only person in that house who had nothing to do with the pet, be responsible for her?

He went back to the room, where Minhyuk despaired over one of the questions, holding his head with both of his hands and making his bleached hair look like Einstein's. His friend’s eyes diverted from the paper in front of them and stared at Kihyun’s annoyed face.

"Did you talk to him?"

"He's not home,” he replied, stressed. “What should I do? No one ever texted before suspecting Bubbles to be lost." Kihyun put his hands on his hip and exhaled deeply, closing his eyes and trying to keep his cool. He was only _this_ annoyed with the situation because he was tired from studying for so long, he knew that. Still, it was such a bother.

"Is she a cat that usually wanders around? Maybe she can find her way back easily and you don’t need to be worried," Minhyuk suggested, biting into his pencil. "I mean, we do have a lot more to worry about instead. I have no idea how I'll pass this." Minhyuk slapped his cheeks and held his hands there, looking a bit desperately at the untouched pile of homework still waiting to be done.

"You will, calm down." Kihyun sat down again, about to help his friend, but another notification popped up on his phone.

**Unknown number**

_I'm sorry, is this perhaps the wrong number? If you're actually Bubbles' owner, I was wondering if I can feed her some tuna sandwich or if she's into some special diet. She won't stop meowing._

"This damn cat!" Kihyun groaned, almost throwing his phone away. He shouldn't just ignore that. He wasn't sure if Bubbles would be able to make it back by herself, and he did not know if she had a special diet or not. Why was that person even questioning that? Shouldn't it be fine to feed tuna to cats? He didn't know either, but it'd be better to go fetch her and solve the problem soon. She shouldn't have wandered too far.

**Kihyun**

_Hello, I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience my cat has caused. To be honest, I am not sure whether she is lost or having the time of her life, but if it's fine with you I'd like to pick her up. Would you mind giving me your address?_

His fingers furiously tapped across the screen, and his friend kept silent while peeping at the message he had just sent.

"Why are you going to pick her up? What about studying?" Minhyuk questioned as soon as Kihyun stood up with a deep sigh and started looking for his shoes.

"Sorry Min, I swear I'll come back fast. She shouldn't have gone too far and if this old lady is going to keep bugging me through texts, it'd be better to settle this soon."

"How come you know it's an old lady?" The blonde boy raised one of his brows.

"Just a hunch. No one texts this politely and without emojis nowadays."

Minhyuk snorted, not wanting to retort at his best friend for the way he wrote his own message. _“I am deeply sorry”_? How could he call the other person an old lady when he used such lines himself. He raised his other brow.

"What if it's a super hot guy?"

Before Kihyun could reply, his phone vibrated with another new message.

**Unknown number**

_You're crazy if you think I'll give my address to a random stranger. What if you're not even Bubbles' owner? Let's meet at the neighborhood's park, is that fine? XXX one._

"What-- so rude! You were the one who found my number in her collar!" Kihyun almost yelled, frowning as he replied fast, saying that, yes it was perfectly fine, trying not to sound as angry and impolite as certain people. He had barely hit "Send" when another text came, and then another one.

**Unknown number**

_Sorry, my little brother got my phone and replied instead of me._

_Oh, ok. I'm glad the park is ok for you, we'll be heading there in 5. Bubbles' belly is full of tuna now and she seems to be willing to follow us anywhere after we fed her._

"What, did you just find a new best friend? Are you into old ladies now?" Minhyuk had his chin resting on both his hands, looking somewhat amused while staring at his best friend. Kihyun looked up at him and frowned.

"Eh, of course not. What are you saying?"

"Well, you're smirking like an idiot while reading these texts. Is it funny?"

"I'm not smirking,” he retorted, his ears suddenly feeling hot. “It's just that the person has a little brother who was the rude one, and then apologized. I thought it was somehow nice."

"I see. It's not an 'old lady' anymore, but a 'person'. So you're one step closer to admitting it might be a super hot guy," Minhyuk giggled and Kihyun kicked his slippers into his friend's face, while grabbing his shoes.

"You're annoying! Have those exercises finished by the time I come back, bye," he said, leaving in a rush to pick up the damn cat.

Holy pants. It _was_ a super hot guy.

Kihyun knew he was being creepy, hiding behind a low wall in the corner of the park. Two elders had already passed by and eyed him, for he was crouching suspiciously and peeking at the people jogging and playing ball games, but he couldn't help it. He really wasn't expecting a super hot guy. Damn Minhyuk.

There were actually two guys playing with Bubbles when he first spotted the cat, just as the park entered his field of vision. If the shorter one weren't wearing round glasses, black clothes and had a bored look on his eyes, he wouldn't be so sure the tanned, tall, muscular and hot guy was actually the one who texted him. The shorter one looked younger and very rude, so he was probably the "little brother”; that left the super hot guy to be the actual sender of the texts.

Kihyun was lucky he didn't bring Minhyuk along, or he wouldn't be left in peace for the rest of his days. He could almost hear his best friend cackling behind him, and he was sure the blonde boy wouldn’t stop teasing him for not believing when he suggested it was a hot guy.

He had been hiding for almost five minutes now. The park was actually very close to his house, and if the two brothers arrived there so fast, they shouldn’t live so far either. How come he never knew that guy existed in his neighborhood? While thinking about all of this, Kihyun knew that sooner or later he’d have to leave his hiding spot and talk to them, but _what_ would he say?

Wait.

Why was he acting like he was about to talk to his crush for the first time?

He had a reason to approach the guy.

The reason that had started all of that mess.

 _Bubbles_.

Kihyun was close to top student in his year, but he could be really stupid sometimes.

He took a deep breath and stood up, trying to act naturally. He approached the two brothers and raised one hand in the air.

“Yo. I came to pick up the cat,” he said, and both brothers looked at him at the same time. He was a bit intimidated by the youngest one’s stare, as if the boy was judging him deeply even though he was sure he smiled nicely when greeting them.

“Ah, hi—,” before the older could say anything else, the boy wearing black stepped in front of him and raised his arm as if protecting his brother. Like that tall, strong, Greek-god-like man needed any protection. Still, Kihyun stopped on his tracks, wondering why the emo one felt so threatened by him.

“Prove it,” it was what he said, with a deep voice. With a sigh, Kihyun grabbed his phone and showed the exchange of messages, and also his number to confirm it was the same in the cat’s collar.

“You don’t need to be so wary, it’s fine, right? We’re the ones who could be suspicious people,” the super hot guy said, and the youngest frowned, shrugging and crouching next to Bubbles to play with it. “Sorry about this.”

“It’s fine. I’m sorry that Bubbles troubled you guys. It’s the first time she’s ever left home,” he explained. The guy smiled nicely and Kihyun was sure his heart wasn’t beating that fast before.

“So, what’s your name?” The Greek god asked. “It feels weird calling you Bubbles’ owner now that I see you are actually a person.”

To what Kihyun frowned.

“How would I not be a person if I replied your texts and everything?”

“Well, Changkyunnie said it could be a scam act in which phones could be hacked to reply the missing cat texts and set up a meeting spot for gangsters to rob people who are innocently trying to return a beloved cat to someone.”

The little brother, Changkyun, looked up and again stared at Kihyun, as if he still hadn't completely dismissed the theory. Kihyun could only think about how Changkyun himself looked like a hacker who'd do that sort of thing.

“Quite a mind he's got there, huh”, he commented, a bit astonished. The super hot guy smiled, his eyes turning into crescent moons with little wrinkles around it. Kihyun tried convincing himself that his heart was _not_ jumping out of his chest at that sight.

“He's pretty smart, he has advanced one year at school. Anyway, maybe it's more polite if I introduce myself first. I'm Hyunwoo, and this is my younger brother, Changkyun.”

“I'm Kihyun, nice to meet you,” they shook hands and he felt little electric shocks running from his fingertips. “Thank you again for taking care of Bubbles.”

“It was no big deal. She's pretty cute, and Changkyun loves cats. We can't have any pets because my mum is allergic to all existing things. So I guess he's pretty happy now.”

Kihyun seriously thought of inviting Changkyun over to play with Bubbles whenever he felt like it, under the only condition he should have his big bro tagging along. Didn’t it sound like a win-win situation?

He thought about their mother’s allergy, though. “I hope it didn’t bother your mum having her there,” he said, a bit worried. Bubbles really went out causing lots of trouble for other people. At least she managed to find a super hot guy for him, so he wasn’t that mad.

Hyunwoo smiled softly. “Thank you for your concern. It was fine, she’s out for an errand and when we go back we’ll clean up properly.”

“I see. I shouldn’t be holding you back, then,” though Kihyun _really_ felt like holding him back. Or just holding him. Maybe the little brother could go ahead and start cleaning while Hyunwoo spent some time talking to Kihyun. It was not every day that he got to meet someone so… _his type_. He might’ve just found a crush right there.

Not that he was bold enough to make a move or anything like that. He was aware they were both strangers and the only link between them was that fluffy animal that was biting Changkyun’s fingers while holding his hand with her cute little paws. Now that he finished doing what he came to do, he could only hope to bump into Hyunwoo in the neighborhood and pray that his small talk abilities could get the guy just the slightest bit interested on him. How did other people manage to meet and become acquaintances with hot guys?

“It was nice meeting you, Kihyun. Bye, Bubbles,” Hyunwoo waved as Changkyun stood up and nodded at Kihyun. The boy got the cat on his arms and made a little wave with one of her white paws, laughing right after and feeling his ears burn red.

How could he ever expect to be noticed by a potential crush being a fool like that?

After watching the two boys disappear out of his sight (he wasn’t meaning to find out which direction they lived, no), he thought it would do no harm to at least save Hyunwoo’s number, which he did as he made his way back home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really soft for this chapter so i hope you'll enjoy it too!

“Welcome back, Kihyunnie,” his mum greeted him from the kitchen, as he closed the door behind him and disposed his shoes at the shoe rack. He greeted her back, sighing after a tiring day of reviews and study sessions at the library with Minhyuk and Hyungwon. He could hear his brother in the living room, probably having some friends over due to the noise they were making, and he hoped they wouldn’t bother him. He just wanted a bath and his bed.

The peaceful night he was hoping to have was already ruined when his phone vibrated, indicating a new text.

**Hyunwoo**

_Hello, Kihyun. This is Hyunwoo, who found Bubbles a few days ago._

Kihyun gasped, his hands shaking in surprise and almost letting his phone fall. He definitely wasn’t expecting _that_.

Before he could text back his brother came from the living room, bumping slightly into him.

“Yo, bro,” he greeted, grinning. “I heard Bubbles went missing a couple of days ago?”

“Yeah, she did. But someone from the neighborhood found her and I picked her up,” he explained. It seemed just like what his brother wanted to hear, as a grin appeared on his face, which made Kihyun confused.

“Cool. You know, she’s missing again. Can’t you go look for her around here? Maybe she went to this person’s house one more time,” he asked, pretty carefree (in his younger brother’s opinion).

“Hah? She’s your cat, why do I have to go looking for her? Isn’t it enough that you put my number in her collar, you dipshit?” Kihyun raged, crossing his arms and almost stomping his foot like an angry toddler.

“Language,” his brother raised an eyebrow. “Well, my friends are here and I can’t just let them alone while I go searching for a cat, you know? Do it for me, please, Ki,” he tried begging but Kihyun was set in turning him down.

His brother was always like this. Yes, he had his friends over, but couldn’t he think just a little about his younger brother who was giving his best studying for entrance exams? Kihyun was tired from working hard the whole day and didn’t want in the slightest go out in the cold looking for Bubbles again.

Unless… it meant meeting Hyunwoo one more time.

Like a small lightbulb had lightened up in his brain, he connected the dots and opened his mouth in surprise. At that moment, he got a new text, confirming what he had suspected (and secretly wished for).

**Hyunwoo**

_Bubbles is visiting again. I was wondering if it’s fine. Do you want to come pick her up?_

“Fine, I’ll go. See ya,” he turned his back to his brother, putting his shoes back on and leaving the house without saying anything else.

Hyunwoo was sitting on a low brick wall, a few blocks away from Kihyun’s house. He had texted him the address they could meet as soon as the younger agreed to pick Bubbles up one more time, but Kihyun doubted it was anywhere near his real house. Either Changkyun didn’t know about their meeting to allow his older brother to disclose their house address, or he allowed Hyunwoo to go by himself given the meeting point was just a random street.

Kihyun didn’t care either way, blushing at the sight of Bubbles getting a massage from Hyunwoo’s big and somewhat clumsy hands – Kihyun had never seen someone pet a cat like that, though Bubbles didn’t seem to dislike it. As a matter of fact, the cat was loudly and happily purring.

The boy didn’t know if what made the tips of his ears turn to a slight pink shade was the wish of being touched like that or the fact that he’d like to be able to purr in return if he ever did; Hyunwoo seemed pretty pleased at the noise coming from the animal.

Having enough of feeling jealous over a cat, Kihyun finally approached them, holding tight to the shoulder straps of the backpack he forgot to leave at home when going out in a hurry to meet Hyunwoo.

“Good evening, Hyunwoo-ssi,” he greeted, bowing slightly and making the older one look into his direction, his soft smile spreading a bit more on his face.

“Hello, Kihyun. You don’t have to be so formal.”

“Given that my cat has been bothering you again, I should at least show you some respect,” Kihyun said, beaming back. Hyunwoo chuckled and Bubbles let a meowed complaint out of her mouth, noticing the man’s attention had diverted from her, and probably requesting new massages.

“Actually, she was strolling near the park again and when I was coming back home I recognized her. I thought it would be safer to contact you again,” he explained. Kihyun thanked him and got a bit closer, enough to play with the cat’s pointy ears while she was still comfortably sprawled on Hyunwoo’s lap.

“I had just gotten home when I got your text. My brother was about to ask me to look for her, so you saved me from having to roam all over the neighborhood after her.”

“You came from school at this hour?” Hyunwoo asked, noticing the heavy backpack in the younger’s back. “Ah, entrance exams?”

“Yeah,” Kihyun murmured. “Mind if I sit a bit?”

“Not at all,” Hyunwoo indicated the place next to him on the low wall and Kihyun made himself comfortable there, putting the backpack under his feet and letting a sigh out of his lips. “It’s a tough time, but you look like someone who could handle it well. Though this is our second meeting and it might be irresponsible of me to say so,” Hyunwoo said, smiling a bit. Kihyun giggled.

“Thank you. I’m doing my best, I guess,” he started playing with Bubbles, grabbing a stick from a bush behind him and teasing her. This was all to distract himself from the fact he ended up sitting too close to Hyunwoo and noticing how bigger the other was next to him. Kihyun wasn’t very tall, nor had a large built, and it was completely the opposite of Hyunwoo. It was like the man by his side was twice his size and that made him feel warm on the inside for some reason.

“What do you intend to study at university?”

“Psychology,“ he replied.

It made him happy that Hyunwoo seemed a bit interested in him, even if just out of politeness. He could have just delivered Bubbles and waved him goodbye, but they ended up in a nice atmosphere, without any rush to come back home. The exhaustion Kihyun had felt when arriving in his house seemed to have vanished and he could spend hours talking to Hyunwoo there, under the moonlight.

“Oh, that’s amazing. It’s a bit tough, but you can manage,” Hyunwoo gave him a half-smile, his eyes closing a bit. “If I can be of any help, you can hit me up. I’m taking Economics, so I don’t know if there’s much I can help you with, actually…” he kept blabbing, as if the first sentence came out naturally and without him thinking much of it. Kihyun laughed a bit.

“Thank you, Hyunwoo-ssi. I appreciate it,” he was honest. “How’s university life?”

Hyunwoo went on telling him about a bit of his daily life, saying how he practiced swimming at the university’s pool (that explained a lot, Kihyun thought while once again side-eying the built of the man beside him), how the restaurant had cheap and delicious food and how he enjoyed leaving Friday afternoon’s classes a bit early to hang out with Hoseok, one of his closest friends. It seemed very interesting and Kihyun was glad to be trusted those pieces of information regarding his life. It felt like they weren’t strangers anymore, but neighborhood acquaintances that got along pretty well.

The older one asked him in return about his final high school months. Kihyun didn’t have anything too exciting to share; it was all studying the whole time, so he told Hyunwoo about Minhyuk’s problem with math and how Hyungwon slept through all of the classes and still managed to get top scores. Their study sessions were very noisy (except for when they were in the library), with Hyungwon trying to explain things to them, and him and Minhyuk bickering all the time, but also they also took things seriously and gave their best.

It was just when Kihyun failed suppressing his third yawn that Hyunwoo noticed how tired the boy must have been all that time.

“Ah, sorry to hold you back for this long, Kihyun-ah,” he apologized, grabbing Bubbles and jumping down from the wall, his long legs easily reaching the floor. Kihyun cursed himself mentally for demonstrating his tiredness despite being completely fine with staying longer by Hyunwoo’s side. Now that he wasn’t there anymore, his left side felt pretty cold.

“It’s fine. Probably my brother’s friends are still home making a mess and I wouldn’t be able to rest anyway,” he replied while also jumping down from the wall. He held his backpack and left a sigh, noticing he was being watched by Hyunwoo’s attentive eyes.

“He should be a bit more considerate of you at times like this, shouldn’t he?”

Kihyun suddenly felt jealous of Changkyun for having Hyunwoo as a big brother; he definitely was the type to care, and just the way he had bragged about the younger having advanced one year at school the other day at the park was enough to make Kihyun see how proud he was of his family.

“He should, right?” he chuckled, shrugging. It would be nice to have Hyunwoo as older brother, but there were perks for not being so as well. Kihyun tried not to smirk when that thought crossed his mind, and with the backpack on his back again, he reached out to grab Bubbles, but Hyunwoo didn’t move.

“Are you fine with all of this weight? Do you want me to walk you home?” Hyunwoo offered and Kihyun’s heart skipped a beat. “It’s pretty late already, and I can take your backpack for you.”

Kihyun’s cheeks burned and he had to suppress a smile. How could that man be so, so sweet? He couldn’t help but falling for him even if that was their second meeting. He was delighted by the offer, and even though all of his brain cells yelled at him to accept it just for the sake of spending a little longer with him, one thing still held him back.

“Haven’t I bothered you enough, Hyunwoo-ssi?” He couldn’t brush off the feeling that Hyunwoo was just being polite; he probably would rather go home and rest too.

Hyunwoo didn’t say anything, moving closer and leaving Bubbles on Kihyun’s arms. _As expected_ , was what came to his mind. But the older one reached for the shoulder straps and helped – clumsily – Kihyun take the backpack off his back. It would have been easier if he had done so before letting the cat in his hands. Kihyun looked at his eyes, but couldn’t understand well what he was thinking. When his big backpack seemed to have shrunk by being on Hyunwoo’s shoulders, the older one smiled.

“Haven’t I told you that you don’t need to be so polite? You can even call me hyung if you’d like,” he said, starting to walk ahead at the path Kihyun took when coming to meet him.

Feeling his legs weak, his heart racing, this time Kihyun let the smile spread largely on his face; it all seemed like a dream. Hyunwoo stopped on his tracks and turned back to look at him, who was still amazed by the turn of events that night had.

“Kihyun-ah, uh, you have to go ahead. I don’t know where your house is,” Hyunwoo chuckled and the younger laughed, holding Bubbles tight on his arms. The cat, who was almost forgotten amidst Kihyun’s bubble of happiness, didn’t complain when the boy started to pace fast to catch up with Hyunwoo while replying:

“Coming, hyung!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for any mistakes, i'm not a native speaker :D  
> thank you for keeping up with this, it'll be done soon, with only two more chapters~  
> kudos and comments are always appreciated, thank you very much ♥


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's not really angst but we have a Misunderstanding™

“Now that Kihyun only thinks about his _crush_ , our study sessions are ruined,” Minhyuk complained, walking home from the library with Hyungwon by his side, who nodded in agreement.

“The worst is that he won’t tell us who the crush is, and will pretend he has no idea what we’re talking about when we inquire him.”

“Even though he keeps drawing small hearts all over his notes!” Minhyuk added.

“Could the both of you stop talking as if I’m not here?” Kihyun glared at them, raising his eyes from the page of the English textbook he was checking while walking a bit slower behind his two best friends.

“Omo, were you here Kihyunnie? I didn’t see you,” Hyungwon put his hand above his eyebrows, squinting and pretending to look around. Unfortunately, with that, he earned a kick on his back from the smallest one.

“I haven’t told you anything because there isn’t much to be said!” he said, trying to defend himself. Minhyuk rolled his eyes.

“It’s impossible that you don’t have at least a _name_ to give us. Or how you met him. Is he from our school? From the library?” he fired the questions, making Kihyun blush a bit.

He was unsure about what to tell his friends regarding Hyunwoo. They had met once or twice more since that night, Kihyun calling him ‘hyung’ and Hyunwoo smiling adorably. They even texted a bit when the youngest was brave enough to ask something regarding a math homework he didn’t understand, hoping the Economics student could help a little. Hyunwoo had done so, politely and kindly, and they chatted some more afterwards about Bubbles and trivial subjects.

Kihyun was really starting to believe that maybe their relationship wasn’t all out of good manners and a rebel cat. Maybe Hyunwoo even liked Kihyun too, although it could be just as he’d like any kid from the neighborhood. Maybe he just had that older brother aura over him and his instinct was to protect the small and young.

Kihyun would hate that, but at least that was better than him not knowing Kihyun at all.

Minhyuk never questioned anything about the first time he went to pick Bubbles up; he was so engrossed in math problems he didn’t even remember Kihyun was out for a while. That night they met at the low wall in the neighborhood became a precious memory to him, so he kept it for himself, cherishing the time he spent under the moonlight walking home with Hyunwoo, the soft purr of Bubbles being held in his arms still echoing in his ears as his footsteps matched the other’s.

They only managed to figure out he had a crush on someone because of his stupid mistake. He _didn’t always_ draw little hearts on his notes, and he would definitely have erased them before borrowing said notes to Minhyuk if he had had the chance, but it was something that just slipped his mind. So now Minhyuk and Hyungwon wouldn’t shut up about it, even when he insisted he didn’t plan to say anything to them.

They reached the convenience store and when the automatic doors opened, Minhyuk diverted his attention from his friend to look at the cashier, a cute second-year from their school part-timing there, for whom he nurtured a huge crush.

“Jooheonnie!” the blonde boy shrieked, catching the other’s attention. He smiled largely, his eyes squinting and almost turning into two fine lines and his dimples showing cutely.

“Hello, Minhyuk-hyung!” he greeted politely, and then turned back to the customer in front of him. “He is the hyung I told you! The one who is very good at games!”

Hyungwon had already fled to the snacks aisle and Kihyun had been distracted with Minhyuk’s fuss, taking a while to notice the boy with black hair wearing a red hoodie that stood in front of Jooheon. Only when the hoodie boy turned back to look at Minhyuk, after Jooheon mentioned him, Kihyun realized who it was.

“Changkyun?” he accidentally said it out loud. Minhyuk frowned, though the boy in the hood didn’t even bat an eye at the sight of someone familiar. Kihyun had the impression he would never gain the younger’s trust, which, if him and Hyunwoo ever got into the relationship of his dreams, would be quite a problem.

“Eh, do you know him, Kihyun?” Minhyuk asked, turning his head from one boy to the other, whereas Jooheon gaped, probably wondering the same thing.

Kihyun was a bit embarrassed; he _knew_ Changkyun, but they weren’t close enough for him to call out his name like that, and that was clear for the lack of reaction the other gave him. His mind and heart were racing, though. If Changkyun was there, could it be that, perhaps…?!

“I’ve gotten everything we needed, Changkyunnie. Have you given your notes to Jooheon?” Hyunwoo appeared next to the boy, the basket full of snacks and drinks. Kihyun’s heart jumped upon the sight of Hyunwoo with his hair combed back, a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves up to his elbows, and black social pants. He probably had just come back from university, his bag hanging in one of his shoulders.

“Yah, Kihyun, if I get two packets of shrimp chips on 2+1 promotion, can you keep the sweet potato one that comes with it? I really don’t want to eat it but the promotion only works if you have two different flavors…” Hyungwon showed up, organizing things in his basket, without paying much attention to his surroundings.

Hyunwoo turned his eyes to the high-schoolers close to him, realizing Changkyun also stared at them. His eyes met Kihyun’s, and both of them blushed awkwardly. Kihyun wished Hyunwoo didn’t see him in an environment that made it seem like they lived in different worlds. And he hated himself for feeling like they did.

When they met in the neighborhood, they were acquaintances and got along well. Why would any other circumstance be different from that? However, at that moment – Kihyun still in his uniform and Hyunwoo dressed just like a CEO of an important company – he felt the distance between them, even though their ages were close.

He realized maybe Hyunwoo would never see him as something else than his neighborhood’s high schooler. And that maybe all of his politeness and kindness, his crescent-moon smiles and chit-chats, were nothing but what he’d do to any neighborhood’s high schooler he got close to.

And that hurt pretty badly.

“Oh, Kihyun-ah. Have you been well?” Hyunwoo greeted him politely as always. At his eyes, the boy was probably just a brat messing around at the convenience store.

“I have, Hyunwoo-ssi” he gave him a small smile and bowed his head politely. He didn’t have the heart to call him ‘hyung’ in front of everyone else.

Changkyun stared at his brother’s flushed cheeks, still silent and observing. Minhyuk looked a bit confused, but not for long; he was fast in catching up with the situation. He grinned, ready to say something and leave things even more awkward, but was interrupted by a low voice.

“Hyung, I’m done with everything. Let’s go,” it was Changkyun, turning his back to his brother and waving to Jooheon. “See ya, Jooheon. Make sure to study well.”

“Thank you, Kyunnie! Will do,” the cheerful boy smiled and waved at him. Hyunwoo gave him his groceries.

The three seniors watched Changkyun pass by them and leave without any other word. Hyunwoo paid for his purchase and followed the younger brother, smiling shyly at Kihyun when leaving. The three boys bowed respectfully as he left, watching his large back follow the black-haired hoodie boy that was a few steps ahead already.

Minhyuk turned to Kihyun, ready to tease him about his crush on an older guy, but he noticed how down his friend seemed. He didn’t understand what was going on and why Kihyun wasn’t flustered or reacting to his crush talking to him, but he knew better than to complicate things even more. Minhyuk wished he would talk to them though, even if they had been teasing him before.

Choosing to leave things be, and hoping for Kihyun to settle whatever issues he had with liking the super hot guy, Minhyuk smiled and talked to Hyungwon instead.

“I will take the sweet potato chips you were offering Kihyun before! But I also want some ice cream! Go get it, Kihyun!” he pushed his friend’s back, getting him out of overthinking mode.

Kihyun frowned, pouting a little in an angry expression. Minhyuk wished the guy was there to see his friend’s adorable face, and giggled.

“Why should I…” he started saying, but sighed and gave up. “You’d better pay for mine, then, since I helped you with those math problems earlier!”

“Ugh, I hate how fair this is. Fine,” Minhyuk turned to Jooheon and walked over there to chat with him.

Kihyun opened the freezer and stared at the available ice cream options, but he wasn’t really choosing them. His thoughts wouldn’t leave him alone, making him dwell into Hyunwoo and this meeting. How awkward had that been? He didn’t understand his feelings so well, and as the entrance exams’ rhythm compelled him to, he tried to cope with it through a logical and reasonable way.

When they were alone, it seemed to him they were the protagonists of the world. It seemed like they got along just fine, and they could be a perfect match. Kihyun always wanted to stay a little longer, to know a little more about Hyunwoo, to hear his voice for a while more. It could be selfish of him, but at the same time, Hyunwoo didn’t shut him out, and it’s not like he had made it clear he didn’t like it.

Could he be extremely dense and be giving false hopes to Kihyun all this time? Yes, certainly. But this wouldn’t make Kihyun stop liking him. His feelings, at this point, were unstoppable.

So why would it bother him so much Hyunwoo seeing him with his school friends? He had seen him wearing an uniform, he had helped him with homework, he had heard him complaining about the amount of lessons and content he had to study for entrance exams. Hyunwoo had been aware, at least from their second meeting on, that Kihyun was a high school senior. So why did he feel so bad now, so miserable and insignificant?

Kihyun sighed deeply, finally reaching his arm to grab to ice creams. He hated knowing the answer to that question.

All of that bothered him because it made him look like someone who Hyunwoo would never feel interested in. He was at university, studying Economics; even though he was just one year older than Kihyun, Hyunwoo _was_ living in a completely different world. What could an exhausted high school senior at exams period do to call his attention? How could make him slightly interested in him?

That meeting just made it clear how Kihyun would never be good enough, and how Hyunwoo was out of his league. 

∙∙∙

After that, meeting Hyunwoo somehow became part of Kihyun’s daily life, as he had wished before. However, it wasn’t quite as he expected.

It didn’t seem like Hyunwoo enjoyed his company and chit-chats like before, despite always being polite. Hyunwoo now showed himself more in a hurry and didn’t spend so much time with Kihyun, barely looking at him and seeming bothered. The high schooler could easily relate that to him being busy with finals and stuff, but obviously his mind preferred to unveil scenarios in which Kihyun was hated by Hyunwoo instead.

The boy started dreading these encounters with the older one, a part of him sad that the warm and comfortable moment they shared that first night when they actually spent some time together was gone. Maybe he got a little too carried away while searching for a way to escape that boring and tiring high school routine and dwelled on a fictional love story in his head.

All of this reinforced that miserable feeling he had gotten ever since the convenience store meeting, which didn’t make things better at all.

Unfortunately, for the both of them, Bubbles seemed to be more restless than ever and her sneak-outs were so frequent the two boys couldn’t avoid each other no matter how unease they felt.

Every time Hyunwoo texted him saying he had Bubbles, a part of Kihyun lightened up in hopes that maybe _this time_ they could talk as they used to; he’d grab his stuff quickly and leave wherever he was in a hurry to meet Hyunwoo. When they met, the awkwardness was still there, making Kihyun wonder why Hyunwoo never sent Changkyun in his place if he hated it so much.

In one of these days, in which Kihyun left his study session with his friends early to meet Hyunwoo by the convenience store, he decided to ask this to the latter.

“You know, hyung, I know you’re busy, so if you want to have Changkyun to bring Bubbles, I’m ok with it. I’m very sorry she keeps troubling you,” he said, his voice a bit low while he looked anywhere else except for Hyunwoo’s eyes. When he finally gathered courage to face him, he noticed an uncomfortable look stamped all over Hyunwoo’s features. Mixed with it, there was a bit of surprise; the way Hyunwoo’s beautiful eyebrows were raised a slightly bit, making his eyes a little bigger.

Clearing his throat, he broke eye contact.

“Uh, sure. It’s not really that much of a bother,” he chuckled nervously, while Kihyun thought _‘liar’_ to himself. “If you think it would be easier, I’ll do it then. It hadn’t crossed my mind.”

“Maybe it’s better,” he smiled politely, feeling his heart ache for no apparent reason. “Well, see you around then, Hyunwoo-ssi,” he waved, holding Bubbles in his arms and thinking he should talk to his family about her bad habit and how they could fix it.

He had never bothered that much because Bubbles’ wanderings always gave him a chance to meet Hyunwoo and he enjoyed that. It was an excuse so that he could see the older boy and maybe exchange a few words. But if it had come to that, to Hyunwoo feeling so dissatisfied and uncomfortable, it would be better to stop.

So Kihyun would stop it all. Bubbles’ sneak-outs, his meetings with Hyunwoo, and his feelings for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they're just two idiots in love, rest assured  
> thank you for your comments and kudos, i'm really happy you're enjoying this!  
> next chapter will be the last and things will be settled so please stick with me a little longer (°◡°♡)


	4. Chapter 4

It had been… what? 15 minutes already?

Kihyun roamed around the neighborhood, rather aimlessly, looking under every bench, checking the park and the walls around the houses, knocking on some doors. His brother had gone the other way, in order not to face the sun setting, and he promised to let the youngest know if he ever happened to find Bubbles. Kihyun sure hoped he did, otherwise he’d be just wasting the precious time he should be using to review his notes.

Bubbles’ bad habit hadn’t been fixed, and now she had been gone for hours. His mother scolded him and his brother for being irresponsible with their pet, and he was forced to leave the house to look for it.

He knew it might have been faster to text Hyunwoo and ask him if he had seen the cat, but he couldn’t gather courage to do so. It had been a while since they last met. The last couple of times Bubbles was found by one of the brothers, it had been Changkyun who brought her over, as Kihyun had suggested, as Hyunwoo had agreed to. Kihyun wished it didn’t hurt so much. Changkyun wasn’t a chatty person so their meetings were short, the youngest one barely greeting him. He’d only observe him with his sharp eyes, and once Kihyun could swear he heard the boy turn his head and let a low “tch” through his lips.

Still, Kihyun tried thinking about the places he had met Hyunwoo before, hoping Bubbles might be there.

Fifteen minutes later, the sun was almost completely gone and he soon would need to turn on his phone’s flashlight. He had texted his brother, who replied saying he still hadn’t had any sight of Bubbles. Exhausted, Kihyun was about to turn a corner when he heard a familiar voice and stopped on his tracks. As if it was his instinct, he crouched and hid himself behind the wall’s corner, peeking just to be sure he was not misunderstood.

Hyunwoo was also crouched, with his back turned to Kihyun, a little far from him, but not enough so that he wouldn’t hear him clearly. However, just by giving them a quick glance, Kihyun couldn’t tell who he was talking to, so he chose to not reveal himself and just eavesdrop. He knew it was a bad thing, but he couldn’t help it.

“I’m telling you, it’s time to go home,” was what he heard the older one saying. “You can’t keep coming after me anymore.”

Kihyun wondered if Hyunwoo was being stalked. But if it were the case, why was he talking to the person in such position? He got a little closer to the wall’s corner to try to hear better, but almost fell on his side when he heard his name.

“Kihyun’s going to get mad at you for leaving again, and mad at me for contacting him,” Hyunwoo sighed. “Isn’t it about time you stopped wandering around, Bubbles?”

So the cat was really with him after all. Kihyun wished he had texted Hyunwoo so he wouldn’t have to walk around the neighborhood for half an hour. But then, things were awkward between the two of them. Maybe there really wasn’t another option.

He meant to get up and casually walk over to them and get Bubbles back, but before he could stand up, Hyunwoo spoke again and he decided to wait just a little longer.

“I know I treated you delicious food in order to lure you, but I can’t do that anymore, and you can’t keep coming to find me,” he said. Kihyun frowned, not sure of what he had heard. “The reasons why I did that aren’t valid anymore. Kihyun doesn’t want to meet up with me, so I can’t keep on using cowardly ways to see him. I should stop relying on you for that,” Hyunwoo went on. Kihyun had his eyes wide open; he wasn’t sure if he was a bit too far and wasn’t listening properly, or if he was misunderstanding something. What did Hyunwoo mean by luring Bubbles with food? All of it in order to… meet Kihyun? _Him?_

“Anyway, I kinda ruined it all already, so we should really stop this. I kept thinking I shouldn’t bother Kihyun in such an important moment for him and tried to understand what my place was in this weird relationship we built over finding you and bringing you back. I didn’t want, most of all, to harm him in any way. But in the end, I think I made him wary of me.”

Kihyun could barely keep up with his words, his heart beating so fast and loud in his chest it resonated in his eardrums. Bubbles purred and meowed in return, and Hyunwoo seemed to sigh deeply.

“I did it all wrong. I tried to seem uninterested and distant so I wouldn’t be a bother to him, even though it was just me hiding how badly I wanted to be with him. He’s a high school senior and about to discover a whole new world when he gets into university. I can’t really just barge into his life and deprive him of experiences and future encounters. I’m just his nice neighbor who finds his lost cat after all, so I wonder if I’d even have a place by his side.”

“That’s something you should be asking me, not my cat,” cheeks flushed, ears turning red and hands tightened in his pockets, Kihyun said out loud, behind Hyunwoo’s back. The older one jumped in surprise and stood up, holding Bubbles in his arms and turning to face Kihyun with a surprised look in his face.

“Ah, K-Kihyun-ah,” Hyunwoo smiled awkwardly, cheeks blushing. Kihyun thought he looked very cute with that expression in his face. “Were you there?”

They kept in silence for a little while, Kihyun feeling his face burn. He didn’t mean to just stand up and show himself to Hyunwoo like that, but he wasn’t able to take it anymore.

He wasn’t stupid. He could listen well and although tired, he definitely understood every word Hyunwoo had uttered. What made him shocked in disbelief was the actual meaning of it all. His heart had been racing like crazy, his mind processing everything and trying to make it crystal clear for him. Still, he felt like he needed some more confirmation.

He inhaled and gathered a bit more courage, raising his eyes to meet Hyunwoo’s.

“What you just said… so… you didn’t hate me?”

“Hate you?” Hyunwoo seemed confused at the youngest sudden question. “Why would I hate you?”

Kihyun shrugged. His throat was a bit dry. “You seemed to be avoiding me after our meeting at the convenience store. And well, it was my cat that had been bothering you the whole time. I really thought you were fed up with everything…”

“Ah, that… I thought, after seeing you with your friends, I wasn’t anything but your nice older neighbor,” Hyunwoo gave him a half-smile, scraping the back of his neck. “You’re still in high school and will meet so many people from now on. It would be presumptuous of me to wish for a space in your life, wouldn’t it?”

“Isn’t that something up to me to decide?” Kihyun raised his brows, taking his hands out of his pockets and crossing his arms. He still wasn’t sure where all that attitude was coming from, and maybe it would be wishful thinking to assume Hyunwoo had confessed to him (to his cat, actually, but the confession was meant for him!), but the way his heart pounded in joy when listening to what Hyunwoo said was enough to keep him going.

Hyunwoo seemed embarrassed at his words, lowering his eyes and pressing his lips together.

Kihyun closed his eyes and inhaled one more time, deeply. He got it now. It was just a big misunderstanding. There was one way to clear it all very quickly, but just the idea of it made his fingertips tingle. He opened his eyes, facing Hyunwoo who still looked ashamed of being heard in that situation, and the sight made Kihyun decide. He didn’t have much to lose, anyway.

“I like you, Hyunwoo-hyung,” he said, his voice sounding lower than he intended to, his cheeks burning as Hyunwoo raised his head just a little bit, which indicated that he had been heard. Hyunwoo’s thin eyes became a bit wider and rounder in surprise.

“Really?” Hyunwoo asked, stepping closer to him. Kihyun flinched and felt his heartbeat rise again, but didn’t move. He nodded, firmly pressing his lips into a thin line.

“I’m not enough, I know. The reason why you thought I was avoiding you was because I’m aware I’m just a high schooler and you’re already in a very different world,” Kihyun added. His eyes burned a little bit, he felt like crying, he didn’t know why. Saying those words out loud hurt.

“Why did you ask me to send Changkyun instead, then?” Hyunwoo questioned, leaving Bubbles on the floor as the cat had started fidgeting. Kihyun lowered his eyes.

“Because even though meeting you had been the greatest joy in my days lately, when I thought about never catching up to your standards and just watching you from afar, it hurt…”

As he kept staring at the concrete under their feet, he only noticed Hyunwoo had come closer when his feet and legs appeared in his field of vision.

“Does it hurt now?” his voice was soft and Kihyun hesitated before denying, moving his head. He tried looking up at Hyunwoo’s eyes. He found them overflowing with kindness, which made the butterflies in his stomach go crazy.

“You know, I told you that Changkyunnie is a really smart kid, right?” Hyunwoo said, suddenly, and Kihyun frowned, not getting why the younger brother was being mentioned. But he waited, and let the man speak. “He saw right through me even before I understood these feelings myself. Just earlier, before I went out for a walk and met Bubbles, he told me I should stop ignoring how I feel and tell you, because things would probably turn out fine. At first I didn’t understand what he meant, then when I was talking to the cat everything was clear. And now, I get why he said it would end up well” he smiled nicely, allowing himself to reach for the top of Kihyun’s head, patting it slightly. Kihyun could feel his whole body tremble in response to that, though he wasn’t scared. It just felt so _good_ to be touched by Hyunwoo.

“What would?” his voice was merely a whisper, wishing the answer that would come out Hyunwoo’s mouth were the words he wanted to hear.

“Us. I like you too, Kihyunnie,” Hyunwoo replied, his ears turning red.

Kihyun could burst out of happiness. He couldn’t control his cheeks and lips moving into a huge smile, as Hyunwoo did the same. They were two idiots, in the end. He couldn’t believe he almost lost this because of a big misunderstanding. Still, his insecurities knocked on his door.

“Even though I’m like this?” he mumbled, knowing Hyunwoo was too much for him. How could he ever be enough for a man like him?

“It’s _because_ you’re like this,” Hyunwoo replied, pulling him into a hug he wasn’t expecting. With his eyes turning to the size of the moon, Kihyun almost melted in that firm embrace. “I don’t know why you don’t feel enough, but you shouldn’t. I like you just the way you are, and I want to be by your side from now on, if it’s not too selfish for me to ask this” he heard him chuckling and smiled largely again, finally raising his arms to hug him back.

“It’s not selfish at all,” Kihyun said, happiness overflowing all over his body. He couldn’t believe it, and he took a mental self-note not to forget thanking Changkyun for his help.

Oh, and also Bubbles. He definitely should buy her some really delicious tuna on their way back.

∙∙∙

Kihyun let out his breath slowly, watching it turn into a faint small cloud in front of his face. It was very cold, he was covered in layers of clothes and a scarf, but he still jumped quickly in place to warm up his legs while he waited for the traffic lights to turn red so he could cross the street. He couldn’t freeze to death before his awaited and feared entrance exam.

The day had finally come. He hadn’t crammed up the night before, had rested well and ate a nice breakfast. Bubbles purred happily when he scratched behind her ears, his parents gave him a tight hug before leaving the house, and even his brother wished him good luck, after keeping quiet the whole week to help him study.

And he had had a great date with Hyunwoo the night before, eating take-out chicken in the neighborhood’s park where they first met and distracting his mind from the day ahead and what he would face. Even though it was evening, he didn’t feel cold at all sitting so close to him.

Just thinking about it made his cheeks turn red and a big smile spread on his face. He couldn’t wait for the exam to be over so he could meet Hyunwoo again. He didn’t know what his boyfriend would be doing that day, but he hoped they could meet, even if for a little while.

The traffic lights changed, indicating he could go, but before he stepped on the crosswalk someone tapped his shoulder, asking:

“Excuse me, but have you lost your cat?”

When he turned to face the person, his lips were pecked by an amused Hyunwoo who stared at him happily.

“Wha-!” Kihyun gasped, stepping back just because he was surprised by the sudden appearance of the man he had just been thinking about. “Hyunwoo hyung!”

His boyfriend chuckled and held his hand, making them run to cross the street before the flashing red light turned completely red and they had to wait more. He really didn’t mean for Kihyun to be late for his exams.

Catching up for air across the street, Kihyun made sure to punch him lightly on the side.

“Why did you have to do that right when I could cross the street? Why did we have to run?” he complained. Hyunwoo laughed again, intertwining their fingers.

“Sorry, I couldn’t reach you before that,” he explained, and started walking, pulling him closer. Kihyun wasn’t really angry, following him happily.

“Why are you here though? Don’t you have classes?”

“I do, but I had to wish you good luck, right? Also, I can miss those classes today,” he shrugged. Kihyun’s eyes almost sparkled as he stared at his boyfriend, happy they could be together before the exam too. Hyunwoo turned to look at him and smiled largely. “I will wait for you. We can go on a date after your exam ends, to celebrate.”

“Oh, that sounds nice!” his voice sounded as gleeful as he felt. Seeing Hyunwoo relieved all the stress he had been feeling due to the exam, and he was extremely thankful he surprised him like that. “Where should we go?”

“Hmmm,” Hyunwoo pouted, thinking carefully as they approached the gates of the place Kihyun would take the exam. He looked back at him, smiling sheepishly. “Cat café?”

Kihyun’s laugh echoed loudly before he agreed, thinking that it would be a quite fitting date for the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! thank you for reaching the end of this fic :D  
> as a bonus, i've prepared a fanart for this final scene, so if you'd like to check it, you can find it [here!](https://kitsuanne14.tumblr.com/post/613491558364381184/have-you-lost-your-cat-archive-of-our) yes im trash and i illustrated my own fanfic but what can i do kjfhkajfskh it was a lot of fun trying to do it!  
> i'm very happy that you read this and enjoyed it, thank you everyone for your comments and kudos, they mean a lot to me ♥  
> hope to see you again, take care!


End file.
